Kaifi, like most of the Urdu poets, began as a ghazal writer cramming his poetry with the oft-repeated themes of love and romance in a style that was replete with cliched similes and metaphors. However, his association with the Progressive Writers` Movement and Communist Party made him embark on the path of socially conscious poetry. In his poems he highlights the exploitation of the subaltern masses and through them he conveys a message of the creation of a just social order by dismantling the existing one. Such poetry serves a social purpose and in this respect Kaifi can be called a successful Progressive poet.

The choice of his themes does not leave much scope for him to make rich his poetic creations aesthetically. In many of his poems his phonation is a bit louder, the style is direct and closer to rhetoric. Yet, Kaifi`s poetry cannot be called plain propaganda. It has its own merits; intensity of emotions, in particular, the spirit of sympathy and compassion towards the disadvantaged section of society are the hallmarks of his poems. Kaifi`s poems are also notable for their rich imagery and in this respect his contribution to Urdu poetry can hardly be overstated.